Never Knew, This Dream of Mine
by Jaiaelle
Summary: Both Quinn and Artie started the year off with all their dreams finally coming true, or at least that's what they believed. Quinn/Artie, Puck/Rachel, Santana/Mike.  Collaboration with DryadSpeaks.
1. Introduction

_Author's Note: This is a collaboration between myself and DryadSpeaks. I will be writing the Quinn-centric parts and Quinn's dialogue while DryadSpeaks will be writing the Artie-centric parts and Artie's dialogue. Thanks to Carli for jump starting this with an idea. Please read and review! I know for a fact, we both love reviews! :)_

**_Never Knew, This Dream of Mine_**

**_Introduction_**

"The Year of Dreams Realized."

After a long pause, Quinn waited for Rachel to tell her that she was joking. But the smaller girl continued to smile happily, apparently completely serious about her idea for the theme of that year's yearbook. Pressing her fingers to her forehead, she gazed around the room designated for use by Figgins for the yearbook staff, wondering if anyone had any better ideas. Her eyes flitted from Brittany and Santana, bent over a desk, clearly not working on anything yearbook related, to Artie, who was furiously recording something into a notebook. Sighing, she finally transferred her eyes back to Rachel, who was waiting expectantly for an answer. "I'll put it in the consideration to be voted upon category."

Frowning, Rachel almost seemed to deflate. "That's what you said about Jacob's idea and his was about invading people's personal spaces! In fact, I would consider it to be one of stalking!"

Grinding her teeth, Quinn was about to snap a response when Finn appeared at the doorway. Careful not to draw attention to him, Quinn attempted to be diplomatic. "Rachel, all ideas are going into the same category because we're going to be voting upon them. In that case, you can decide which idea the others are going to choose: yours or his?"

Obviously coming to the conclusion that it would be hers, Rachel bounced away, not noticing the giant hovering just beyond her scope. Announcing that she was going to take a bathroom break, Quinn slipped outside, moving into Finn's arms.

"Hey," she said, smiling up at him.

"Hey," he responded, his smile bigger than hers.

Pressing her cheek against his chest, Quinn reflected on dreams, since Rachel had planted the idea in her head. Perhaps dreams should be the theme of the yearbook. It certainly seemed to be theme of her own senior year. Head Cheerio still, student editor of the yearbook, strengthened relationships with both parents and, best of all, she had Finn once more, as the two of them had resumed their relationship, something she believed would never occur, over the summer. He was her first love and the one that she should've been with all along, the one she would've been with had it not been for the slight discretion of sleeping with his best friend and getting pregnant.

But there was no point in thinking about any of that now. All that was in the past and what mattered was the present, where all her dreams were coming true.

* * *

Artie sat, writing in his notebook, and listening to the conversation between Quinn and Rachel. He liked Rachel's idea, and he hoped that would be the one that would be used. If Jacob's were to be selected, Artie decided he'd probably leave the yearbook staff. The whole thing Jacob had proposed was just too weird. Surely people would have more sense than to pick that one, wouldn't they?

He put down his pen, which, until seconds earlier, had been writing a love note to Tina. He knew it wasn't what he was supposed to be doing, but they hadn't really started anything yearbook-related yet, and he had resolved to try and be more romantic since they got back together over the summer. They had managed to put aside most of their differences, and had decided that they really did belong together, even if he didn't always give her enough attention, and she tended to be a bit on the shallow side sometimes. They had decided to take things slowly the second time around, and Artie felt like everything was going to work out in the end. He loved her, and she loved him, and that was all that mattered.

Artie had lots of dreams. He dreamed of receiving the acceptance of his peers, which he did. He was the male lead in the glee club (Mr. Schu had finally realized that he was a stronger singer than Finn), top chair in the jazz band, and president of the AV club, and now he was on the yearbook committee. He dreamed of having a girlfriend, and just having friends in general, and he felt lucky that he had both of these things as well. Over the last year he had forged some solid friendships with some of the people that shared his interest in the various activities he took part in. He was friends with almost everyone in the glee club, and then he had Martin and AJ, both of whom were in the jazz band and the AV club with him. His biggest dream was still, and probably always would be, to walk again, but he knew that wasn't very realistic, so he had tried to make his dreams and goals about things he knew would be achievable.

He thought about the whole subject of dreams for a moment more, remembering his encounter with Bryan Ryan and how, at that point, he felt like all his dreams had been crushed. He was glad that that wasn't the case. His life was going according to his plan, and he was happy with it.


	2. Tuesdays

_**Chatper One: Tuesdays**_

Artie had a love-hate relationship with Tuesdays. He loved that Tuesdays weren't Mondays, but he hated that they weren't Fridays. He had a similar relationship with Wednesdays, but it wasn't quite as extreme, because those were Wednesdays, not Tuesdays. He tried to explain that to someone once, and they just looked at him like there was something wrong with him and had muttered something about him making their head hurt.

He had a lot of good memories of Tuesdays. The first time he'd operated his wheelchair on his own, it had been a Tuesday. He had felt so independent.

The first time date he'd had with Tina, after which she had revealed her stutter was fake, had been a Tuesday. He was glad he'd forgiven her for that.

The day he'd been made president of the AV club and had secured the lead spot in the jazz band had also been a Tuesday. That was one of the best days of his school career. He felt so accomplished.

He and Tina got back together on a Monday night, but it was so late that he supposed technically it probably was also a Tuesday.

It was Tuesday, and the school day had been a flurry of activity. He got there early for band practice, and left late because there was an AV club meeting after glee club. It seemed like everything he was part of happened on Tuesdays...except for the yearbook committee. He assumed, as they got closer and closer to the deadline for that, it would probably also start happening on Tuesdays. How would he have time for everything?

He thought about calling Tina to see what she was up to that evening, but at the last minute decided instead to invite Martin and AJ over for some quality Wii time. Sometimes he felt like he and Tina spent too much time together, even if they were taking things slow. He wanted to do other things (now that he actually had people to do things with), and didn't feel like he needed to be with her all the time.

Ever since they'd been back together, he constantly found himself assessing whether or not he had acted in a suitable boyfriend manner...making sure he hadn't spent too much time playing video games, and complimented her often. Because he was so busy with all of his school-related activities, they didn't spend as much time together as they had the first time they'd been dating, or during the summer. He thought sometimes this annoyed her, but she never said anything, and he didn't want to bring it up in case she got mad.

He had talked about this with his friends several times, and they had given him mixed feedback. Martin thought what Tina had done to him was unforgivable, even if he hadn't been the best boyfriend ever. He couldn't believe they were back together. He made it very clear that he thought it was a bad idea. AJ thought that Artie needed to keep trying harder to be a good boyfriend, because he hadn't treated her fairly the first time around. Artie didn't really know where AJ had gotten his information from, because they hadn't been friends at the time. Had he been talking to Tina about it? He knew that he should have treated her better, but at the same time he didn't like that AJ seemed to blame everything that went wrong during their first attempt at a relationship on him.

Sometimes he still couldn't believe he even had friends to discuss these things with. While he had always know that he really was great, it was only recently that other people had started noticing this as well. He had known both Martin and AJ for a while, but they hadn't actually become good friends until just before summer started. He wasn't exactly sure how that had even happened, but he was glad that it had. They had invited him over to Martin's house for some extra jazz band practice, mainly because Martin played the baritone sax and hated to drag it around to other people's houses, and their friendship had just grown from there. They understood him and the way his mind worked. He often wondered why they hadn't become better friends much, much sooner.

One thing he noticed early on was that it was always "Martin and AJ," never "Martin or AJ." It was like they were always together. He admired their epic bromance, but at the same time was glad he didn't have someone like that. He liked his alone time, and the two of them always seemed to be together. He wondered if that was part of what bothered him about his relationship with Tina...she always wanted to be together. He quickly pushed that thought from his mind. He loved her, even if he didn't always agree with how she thought things should be.

Just as he was finishing up thinking about Tuesdays and his relationship with Tina and his friends, he heard a knock at the door. He was home alone, so he went to answer it.

Standing on his doorstep were Martin and AJ...and Tina.

Why was she there? If he could have kicked himself for that thought, he would have. He was in love with her, and he should have been thrilled to see her...right? Why, then, was he thinking that he kind of wished she wasn't there?

"Hey man," said AJ, stepping inside, "we saw Tina walking, so we thought we'd just pick her up and bring her along."

"That's great!" he said. He just hoped it was as convincing as he thought it should be.

They fiddled around with the Wii for a bit, trying to include Tina, but she just wasn't into it. Finally, she said she had to get going, because she still had homework to do. Artie thought she looked kind of mad, and as he walked her to the door he noticed she had that cold, emotionless expression she got when she was upset.

He felt like he had to say something. "Tina, I'm sorry...I didn't know you were coming here tonight. We'd already had this planned, and I just wasn't expecting you."

"It's fine Artie," she said, but he could tell from the look on her face that it definitely wasn't fine. "I just feel like I don't get to see you that much since school started. You're doing so many things now, and I just feel like we're not spending enough time together."

He knew something like this would happen. As soon as he saw her on the doorstep with his friends, he should have said something to make them leave so he could spend time with her. A good boyfriend would have done that.

Wait...did she expect that he'd just shun his friends to spend all of his free time with her? Because that wasn't going to happen. Surely there had to be a middle ground where he got to do everything he wanted, see his friends, and spend quality time with his girlfriend.

He loved her, and he knew he needed to make it right.

"Tee, I'm sorry. Really. Why don't you come home with me tomorrow after school, and we'll have a little alone time?"

That seemed to satisfy her, and she kissed him before leaving.

As he turned to head back to the living room for more intense Wii action with the guys, he couldn't help but think how lucky he was to have Tina, even if sometimes she made things difficult. He knew he made things difficult sometimes too. He was just going to have to try harder to be the best boyfriend he could be. He could do that. She was worth it.

* * *

Tuesdays were Quinn's favorite days of the week because on Tuesdays she went to her grandmother's house, where her grandmother was teaching her an assortment of activities, like knitting and baking and cooking pot roast. By the end of her senior year, Quinn was going to be ready to teach a home ec. class straight out of the 1950s. But Tuesdays were kept a secret from everyone, including Finn, even though they had agreed, when they got back together, not to keep anything from one another. But Quinn didn't really feel it was a problem, considering it was only an evening with her grandmother and not wine coolers with his bff. At the same time, she felt a little guilty about it. The real reason she didn't tell him was because she was kind of embarrassed of the home making nights with Grandma. She didn't know other sixteen year old girls who engaged in the same type of pastimes.

Inhaling she gave her wheel a sharp turn, going left, as she drove, that Tuesday, to her grandmother's, not able to stop thinking about Finn. At the end of Junior year, she had felt like her life was in shambles. Her dad had been emailing her, and not those drunken sent at midnight ones but real heartfelt emails where he apologized for his past behavior and told her he wanted to renew a relationship with her. Apparently, he had almost died sometime in February and his perspective on his whole life had changed. Anyway, he had asked her to move to Chicago for the summer, so they could spend some time together. On top of that, she had broken up with Sam because she realized she had just been using him as a replacement Finn, who she still loved, who she had never stopped loving. And to make things that much better, Coach Sylvester said her performance wasn't all it could be so she was thinking of replacing her as head Cheerio…with Brittany.

It had been almost too much to take and she felt like getting away from everything. So that's what she had done. Once the semester let out, her and her mom had gone to New York for three days and played tourist. It had been nice to get away and when she got back, she knew what to do.

First, she told her dad that, though, she loved him, she didn't want to leave her mom. But she promised to visit him more than once. It was a promise she kept.

Second, she called Finn and left a voicemail asking him to go on a date with her, as he was single (she wasn't exactly sure of all the details surrounding the Rachel/Finn break up and she didn't care).

Third, she had marched herself into Coach Sylvester's office and told her that she was the best at being head Cheerio and they both knew that. Coach Sylvester had curled her lip than told Quinn she was proud of her for standing up for herself but to never do it again.

Three days after she called Finn, he returned her call and said yes to the date.

Admittedly, their first date (second first date) was a bit awkward but Quinn was determined to make it work.

By the end of the date, Finn was beyond fidgety. "Look, Quinn," he had told her. "I'm not sure if I can do this. I mean, with all that has happened between us…"

Feeling as if everything she wanted was starting to slip away, she grabbed his hand and forced him to look into her eyes. "Look, Finn, I messed up in the past but I really want this." Then, with a slight hesitation, she had whispered, "I love you." It was really difficult, to allow herself to be that vulnerable, but she had to do something or he was going to end it before it had the chance to begin again. And it wasn't as if she was lying. She meant it; she loved him.

Swallowing, he had paused before agreeing to see where the relationship might go.

Two months later, they were still together. And, best of all, Finn had told her he loved her. She had expected to feel incredibly happy at the words. Not that she didn't feel happy. It just seemed off but she couldn't figure out why. When she kissed him, after his declaration, she let herself concentrate on the kiss and nothing else.

Pulling alongside the curb in front of her grandmother's house, she decided that she would tell Finn about how she spent her Tuesday nights. He wouldn't judge her, after all.

As she exited her car, her phone buzzed, once, then twice. Taking her phone from her bag, she saw that she had received two text messages.

One was from Rachel and read, "When are we voting on the theme for the yearbook? I think it is imperative that we vote soon! The year will be over before we know it and" Wrinkling her nose, Quinn saw that Rachel had sent three other texts, all run off thoughts from the first. She quickly typed in "Tomorrow," then pressed send.

The second text was from Finn. "Wht ru doin?" Rolling her eyes at his text speak, she answered, "I'm actually spending some time with my grandmother." She stared at the screen for several seconds before sending it. Only a few seconds later, her phone buzzed again.

"Orly thats cool."

Grinning, Quinn inserted her key into the lock of her grandmother's door. She should've known Finn wouldn't care. Why would he? He loved her and accepted her, completely, just as she did for him. At least, that was the case this time around and that's the way it was going to stay.


	3. AV is for Geeks

**_Chapter Two: A/V is for Geeks_**

The theme for the yearbook had been decided. It hadn't really been a hard choice between Rachel's dreams idea, Jacob's possibly unconstitutional one and the anonymously submitted "boobs," though some of the boys (and Brittany) had argued for the last one, earning a rather pointed glare from Rachel and a rolling of the eyes from Quinn. Ms. Pillsbury, the teacher advisor for the yearbook committee, had vetoed it before it had gone to voting, eliciting groans from several people.

"So dreams it is," Quinn had announced, after counting the almost unanimous votes (shockingly, one person had voted for Jacob's).

Squealing, Rachel had jumped from her seat. "I am so honored that all of you have chosen my theme idea for the yearbook-"

"Rachel," Quinn cut her off, gesturing for the girl to resume sitting. "This is not the time for a thank you speech."

Sitting back down, in a rather disgruntled manner, Rachel pouted. "It's always the time for a thank you speech…" she muttered.

Ignoring her, Quinn started assigning people to specific areas of the yearbook, taking into consideration their requests. Brittany and Santana were in charge of a handful of random clubs, as well as the Freshman section. Rachel had, rather exuberantly and annoyingly, demanded that she have control over the Senior section, which was a huge undertaking but if Quinn could trust anyone with it, she knew she could trust Rachel. Jacob wanted the sports section, which he took to mean that he had unfettered access to the locker rooms. That wasn't true but Quinn had neglected to inform him of that. After handing out some more assignments, she noticed Artie still sitting, waiting for his. Glancing at her list, she noticed that he hadn't requested anything. She walked up the table where he was sitting and leaned her hip against it.

"What about you? There are a couple of things left."

"I'm not picky, what have you got?"

Flipping through her pages, she took a moment before answering, "Theater, glee club, band…a few other things."

"I'll take theater, glee club, and band," he said, "unless you wanted any of those. Just give me whatever's left over."

"That sounds good." She quickly jotted his name down, gave him a quick smile, then turned away, heading back to the desk at the front of the room that she had made her own (at least for yearbook meetings).

After several minutes, she heard Artie leave and she was all alone in the room. It was kind of nice. Sighing, she made a few notes in her notebook before a noise distracted her. Lifting her eyes, she saw Finn, righting the desk he had toppled over.

Laughing a little, she stood and met him, helping him to right the desk. "Hey."

Grinning, he leaned down, way down, to kiss her. "Hey. How was yearbook?"

"Good. I'm really enjoying it." Grasping his shirt, she brought him down for another kiss. "How was…?" Trailing off, Quinn tried to remember what Finn had on Monday afternoons. First was glee, then he stayed on campus until football practice. But there were a couple of hours between, at which time she had yearbook committee.

"Puck, Mike and I have Halo time in that little room where the A-geek club meets, remember?"

Resisting the urge to narrow her eyes, Quinn smiled. Sort of. "Oh, yes, that's right. And it's the A/V club."

"…oh, right. Geeks are in that club, though."

Shaking her head, Quinn kissed him again, in an effort to keep her biting remarks to herself. Sweetly, she reminded him, "Artie's in that club, remember?"

Furrowing his brow, Finn tilted his head and thought for several seconds. Minutes. More minutes. "He is?"

"Just go get ready for practice," she told him, pushing him toward the door. "I have to go get ready for my own practice anyway."

Without objection, he allowed her to almost shove him out the door, calling over his shoulder, "See you on the field!"

Sighing, she gathered up her stuff, turned the light off and made her way slowly to her locker, thinking about the theme of dreams yet again. Ms. Pillsbury had suggested she write something on the theme that could be added to the yearbook as a student editor's note. It was still awhile away yet but Quinn had jotted down a few ideas, always thinking of Finn, trying to make him her inspiration. Thus far, nothing had been fitting but she had plenty of time. She would think of something.

* * *

Artie sat, willing himself to be quiet while Rachel attempted to give her thank you speech. He was happy with the theme that had been chosen...but, then, he supposed anything was better than Jacob's suggestion, and no one really thought "boobs" would be used, did they?

When Quinn had sent around the list for people to sign up for things they might like to cover, he hadn't signed up for anything. He didn't really have a preference, and everything he knew he definitely didn't want had someone's name beside it. He was surprised that no one picked glee club, and he was glad when Quinn offered it to him. He knew he would be able to do all three of his areas justice.

After his discussion with Quinn, Artie headed for the A/V Club room. He went in there every so often to make sure everything was in order...one of his seemingly endless duties as the A/V Club president.

The first thing he noticed was that the layout of the room looked different. Chairs had been moved around facing one of the TVs, and his first thought was that someone had been playing video games. He quickly dismissed it, though, because he was pretty sure no one would do that at school, much less in a room designated for the "geeks" of the school. But then...they did have the best equipment, so maybe that first thought wasn't so far-fetched after all.

He was just finishing up, when he heard a soft knock at the door. He still couldn't figure out why people knocked on doors...it was a public space, not something private and requiring knocking. Maybe they were just worried they might be interrupting something. Everyone knew the A/V Club met in there way more frequently than had originally been intended, so everyone expected that there would always be someone there. It was the only extracurricular activity that a few of the members took part in, and they took pride in being part of the club.

"Hi Artie," Tina said, making her way into the room.

He turned. "Hey, Tee," he said, moving the last of the chairs out of the way so he could get by.

"What're you up to after you're done here?"

He thought for a moment, before replying, "I was actually going to text you to see if you wanted to come for dinner and maybe do some homework?"

That hadn't actually been his plan, but she didn't need to know that. Judging from the smile on her face, he had said the right thing, and she hadn't noticed the moment where he almost said something else. He had planned to do some homework and have some alone time, but spending time with his girlfriend did sound like a good alternative to spending time with himself.

"Yes! I was coming to find you to see if you wanted to do something after you were finished here. I'd better let you finish up then, so we can hang out tonight. See you around 6?"

He nodded.

She kissed him, and then he watched as she half walked, half skipped out of the room. Apparently he'd made her day.

As he went to grab his coat, he noticed someone lurking outside the door.

"Can I help you?" he asked, wheeling towards him. It was AJ.

"Dude...are you and Tina having problems? Not that I was eavesdropping or anything, but are you?"

"Why would you think that? Even if you were eavesdropping, all you would have heard was me making plans to spend the evening with my girlfriend."

AJ squirmed a bit, before saying, "I don't know...you just looked kind of uncomfortable in there. I mean...I could see you squirming from here. Well...I could see your top half squirming. I'm surprised she didn't notice that and say something."

AJ always had such a way with words.

"Well, I wasn't. And even if I was...she just caught me off guard, that's all. Where's Martin?"

"He had to go see his grandma for a couple of days. She's sick. And it's not eavesdropping if you're watching...I think that's called spying. Or something. Eavesdropping is when you just listen in."

It was always strange for Artie to see one without the other...Martin and AJ was like Kibbles and Bits, or peas and carrots. They were always together. Kind of like how he and Tina used to be...only they weren't dating (that he knew of).

AJ looked lonely and a little lost without Martin, and Artie almost invited him over for the evening, before realizing that that would probably be the worst thing he could do. Tina wanted to spend time with Artie, not with Artie and AJ.

"I'll see you tomorrow, man," AJ said, as he turned to walk out of the school.

As Artie closed up the room, he found himself thinking about how his relationship with Tina used to be, before they decided to "take a break," as she was calling it. She still hadn't admitted that her reasons for dumping him had been mostly shallow, and he hadn't brought it up because he didn't want to rock the boat.

He missed the way things used to be, and he wondered if they would ever have that again. Everything seemed different the second time around.

He pushed those thoughts out of his head. He needed to live in the present, not the past.


	4. Emergency Meeting

_Author's Note: Interactive chapter with a lot of characters! Yay! There's a missing "the" somewhere but I couldn't find it on my second read through...for the record._

_ALSO the characters I am writing for are: Quinn, Rachel, Puck _

_DryadSpeaks is writing for: Artie, Mike, Santana, Brittany_

_Apparently, no one else in yearbook has an opinion..._

**_Chapter Three: _****_Emergency Meeting_**

Friday afternoon, Rachel called an emergency meeting of the yearbook staff which, up to that point, had only been convening on Mondays and Wednesdays. She hadn't checked with Quinn or Ms. Pillsbury beforehand, sending out an email late Thursday night with the subject heading "Emergency Yearbook Meeting…Mandatory!" Quinn was more than slightly irritated but had decided against saying anything. This time. For a reason unbeknownst to Quinn, Puck and Mike were both attending as well, leaning against the back wall, not paying any mind to anything Rachel was saying. And to be honest, neither was Quinn. But it seemed Artie was because, after a stray comment Rachel made about something, he felt the need to speak up.

"Rachel, I really don't think that's necessary. We've only had our assignments for a few days...don't you think you're getting a bit ahead of...everything?"

Placing her hands on her hips, Rachel eyed Artie for several long seconds before answering him. "I already have the entire Senior section storyboarded. Can you say as much as for glee club?" Without waiting for him to respond, she continued on. "I didn't think so. Which is why I am volunteering myself and N- myself for the glee club as well as the Senior section!"

The look of annoyance on Artie's face increased with every second that went by. "Rachel, I can assure you that I've got everything under control. Thanks for the offer, but I'd like to do this on my own."

Obviously, she didn't believe him. "Have you? Because you do realize that glee is the most important club on camp-" Stepping forward a bit, Puck called out, "I'm with Abrams, Berry." Sputtering, Rachel turned her head, looking from Puck to Artie before spinning towards Quinn.

Remaining calm, in spite of Rachel being sort of ridiculous, Quinn tapped a finger against her desk before telling Rachel, "Artie's in charge of the glee club and that's that." Out of the corner of her eye, she saw a look of annoyance on Santana's face, directed at Rachel, and knew that she would have to diffuse things or they would just get more heated. She was all ready to do that when Santana interjected with,

"Rachel, you need to get off your high horse and stop trying to get in everyone's business. Wheels doesn't need your help, and you better not try and take over my or Britt's stuff either, or there will be consequences."

Turning a shade of red that seemed to be a mixture of embarrassment and anger, Rachel raised her voice. "And what consequences might those be, Santana?"

Jumping up, Quinn positioned herself between the two girls, as Santana had stood up while Rachel was talking. "This is getting us nowhere. And I think we need to address another issue entirely." Raising an eyebrow, she glanced to where Puck and Mike stood. "Why are you two here?

Puck looked like he was about to say something, but before he could, Mike jumped in. "I just wanted to let you guys know that we've started a dance club. And I was wondering if maybe I could join the yearbook committee and do a little section on that? We only have five members...and I thought maybe we could get some more if people knew it was going to be in the yearbook."

Shrugging, Puck leaned back against the wall, saying nothing.

Wondering what his ulterior motive for being there was , Quinn narrowed her eyes at him in what was not quite a glare. "Mike," she said, ignoring Puck for the moment. "Perhaps you can work with Brittan-"

"Actually, I was wondering if maybe Santana wanted to work with me on this," he said, looking over at the dark-haired cheerleader. "Britt's in the club, and I thought it might be good to have someone working on it that's not a member. Plus, Santana is in charge of some of random clubs too, and this definitely fits in that category."

Santana nodded in agreement with Mike, a small smile forming on her face.

Accepting Mike's reasoning, Quinn gave her approval before focusing on Puck again. "Would you like to join too? Because there aren't really any openings but I guess we could find _something_ for you to work on…"

Snorting, Puck smirked. "Nah, I'm here because someone annoying dragged me here." Rachel gave a little "humph" but Puck pretended not to hear (though everyone had heard it), elbowing Mike. "I mean Chang here."

"Yeah...I thought Puck should come with me for moral support. You know, in case you guys rejected my idea." Mike grinned, sheepishly.

Giving Mike a nod, Puck affirmed that the other boy's statement was true. "Bros gotta stick together."

Quinn tilted her head, not believing it for an instant. For a second, her eyes met Artie's and she thought she spied the same doubt in them. Could Rachel's "humph" have anything to do with Puck's explanation for coming? Could Mike be covering for his "bro"? Sighing, she decided it wasn't worth considering and dismissed it from her mind. "Does anyone else have anything to say at this called-by-Rachel emergency meeting?"

As Artie's eyes met Quinn's, he wondered if they were thinking the same thing. He thought that Puck's reason for coming, and Mike's support of that reason, were all a charade to mask what was really happening. Judging from Rachel's "humph" a couple of minutes earlier, it was clear (to him, at least, and apparently also to Quinn judging from the look she gave him) that Rachel was the one who had brought Puck. That just left him pondering why Mike was really there, and he wondered if the fact that he had basically steamrolled Quinn's suggestion that he work with Brittany in order to suggest working with Santana had something to do with it. He was about to say something, when Brittany spoke up.

"I forgot last time. Can I do the duck section?"

"Britt, I don't think there is a duck section," Santana said, patting Brittany on the knee and smiling gently.

"Oh. Why? There should be one." The girl looked confused.

"Because...there just isn't one. I don't really think we need a duck section...but maybe you could put some ducks on some of your pages for decoration?"

Brittany smiled, and nodded. Santana was relieved that her friend was satisfied with this. She didn't think the rest of the group would have been too happy having a section about ducks in their yearbook.

Listening to the exchange between the two, Quinn began to shake her head. "No. No ducks. None as decorations or otherwise. Sorry, Brittany." But the sorry was more a pleasantry than anything else. Pursing her lips, she looked at Santana, waiting until the other girl made eye contact. "I'm actually shocked that anyone would make that suggestion. We want this yearbook to be the best McKinley has ever had. Not some joke, not something that will become a laughingstock for years to come. Really, Santana." Santana seemed to bristle at Quinn's words but Quinn was right. What had Santana been thinking, telling her friend that?

Grinning, Rachel came to stand next to Quinn. "I am in complete accordance with Quinn on this issue. Which is why I really think that I should be in charge of-"

"No," Quinn practically shouted. "Artie is doing glee." Pointing at Santana and Brittany she went on, "No ducks!" Gesturing toward Puck she exclaimed, "And you being here is just obnoxious, seeing as you're not even part of the staff!" Taking a deep breath, Quinn composed herself. "Meeting adjourned. And Rachel, no more emergency meetings without prior approval from me or Ms. Pillsbury!"

Quinn's outburst seemed to stun the yearbook staff who had been quiet throughout the meeting. Even Jacob had been silent, though his hand had shot up around the same time Brittany had started to speak but he now lowered it, fearing the wrath of Quinn.

Huffing, Rachel gathered her stuff then stormed out the door (she was an expert at storming out of a room), shifting her eyes over her shoulder. Puck and Mike caught the glance and quietly left, using the door at the back of the room.

"Come on, Britt, let's go," Santana said, grabbing the blonde's hand and standing up, while giving Quinn a look that said she wished she could shoot daggers out of her eyes. "Don't worry, there will be ducks somewhere in the yearbook, I promise you that."

Artie saw the look of sadness in Brittany's eyes as she walked out with Santana. Contrary to what Rachel thought, he had started, and he knew that there was a picture from one of their fundraisers where Brittany was wearing a t-shirt with a duck on it. Maybe he could use that somewhere in the glee section...he did want to put a couple of pictures from their fundraisers, after all, and there would be no way Quinn would dispute that. He hated seeing people upset. It made him feel like he needed to do something.

"Quinn, can I talk to you for a minute?" he said, wheeling towards her.

Shoving papers into a folder, not even caring that they were getting somewhat crumpled, Quinn lifted her eyes to meet Artie's. "Sure, fine. What's wrong?"

"Um...nothing's wrong. I just thought you looked a little tense when we got here, and that just got worse as Rachel's sorry excuse for an emergency meeting took place. I wanted to ask you if everything is ok?"

Running her tongue over her teeth, Quinn contemplated his question. Everything was better than okay. Everything was perfect in her life. It was only yearbook that was giving her a headache. Why would he even ask that? Though, if she was honest with herself, she would admit that Finn's prank at lunch involving tater tots and peas he had mashed had made her want to bang her head against a wall. Why did he have to act like he was five sometimes? "I'm fine." Without adding any more unnecessary comments, Quinn grasped her folder to her chest and prepared to leave.

Artie wasn't going to take "I'm fine" for an answer. He knew all too well that that was what people said when they really weren't fine. It was something he did frequently. "Are you sure? I mean, if you don't want to talk about it with me, I would understand, but you just look like you're clearly not fine."

She almost snapped at him but felt that would take too much effort. Pausing in the doorway, she said, over her shoulder, "I'm sure. The meeting was crazy but it's done so...time to move on." Then she left, ponytail swaying as she made her way to cheerleading practice. And really, everything was fine and would stay that way, as long as she could manage to effectively run yearbook, produce something that would make McKinley High history and keep the peace. Which she was sure she could.

Artie watched as she left the room. He couldn't figure out if she really was fine and he just hadn't read her right, or if she just didn't want to talk to him about it. And then, of course, there was always the third option of her being in denial about how things were really going. He knew how that went...it was always easier to be in denial instead of actually dealing with things. Denial was something that popped up in his life frequently, although it was becoming less and less as he got older and felt more able to deal with things. He just hoped that, if things weren't fine, she had someone to talk to about it. Artie sat for a moment more, before heading towards the door. Thinking about what he was going to do that weekend, he flicked the lights off and closed the door.


	5. Beginning of a Coop

_Author's Note: In this chapter, I am writing Quinn and Rachel, while DryadSpeaks is writing Artie, Brittany and Santana. Feedback is appreciated. Thanks! :D_

**_Chapter Four: Beginning of a Coop_**

Wednesday, after school but before the yearbook meeting, Quinn was confronted by Rachel, right before she could reach her locker.

Grinding her teeth, Quinn glared as she spun her locker combination. "This is borderline stalking, Rachel."

"It is not!" Rachel protested. "I just think it's of utmost importance that I-"

"You sent me like seven texts in the last hour. You wait for me after every class. You were at my house when I got home from school yesterday evening! " Quinn cried. "Actually, I think that's beyond borderline. I think it's just plain stalking."

Pouting a little, Rachel took a step back. "I wouldn't be so adamant if you would actually listen to my ideas. Instead, you ignore me at every turn."

Slamming her locker shut, Quinn faced the smaller girl. "I have a lot going on in my life, Rachel. So I'm sorry if I can't be at your beck and call. Now…I have a yearbook meeting to attend. You do too. Maybe you can sit by Jacob as you're starting to take after him." Pivoting on her heel, Quinn marched off.

Frowning, Rachel watched her for several seconds. "I am not like Jacob…" she muttered. Sniffing, she started to walk to yearbook when she heard a noise. Swiveling her head, she saw Santana and Brittany leaning against some lockers, opposite from Quinn's. "Have you two been there the whole time?"

"How long is the whole time?" Brittany asked, looking confused

Santana whispered something in Brittany's ear, before turning to Rachel. "Yeah, we've been here the whole time. Stalking, huh? Gotta say, that's a bit much...even for you."

Stamping her foot, Rachel sort of whined, "I was not stalking her! I have simple questions that she refuses to answer! And, since you were listening, I did not send her seven texts in the last hour. It was more like two."

"You were waiting outside her house. How is that NOT stalking?" Santana said, raising her eyebrow.

"I was actually inside her house," Rachel clarified. "Her mother was serving me cookies and tea. Mrs. Fabray is a very considerate and warm hearted person. And, also, I don't think it can be considered stalking if I call her ahead of time and tell her I'm coming over, can it? I even told her to call me back if it wasn't okay and she didn't!"

"Santana said that if you ignore people enough, they go away. Maybe she thought you went away," Brittany said, twirling her hair around her finger. "Then she wouldn't have to call you back."

"Well, that's..." Frowning, Rachel was surprised that what Brittany said had actually made sense. So much surprised that she was rendered speechless for several seconds. "Oh...I...guess that could be true," she finally said. "Do you two want something?"

"We want a coop. You know...for the ducks." Brittany was grinning.

"No, Brit, a COUP," Santana said. "We're not happy with the way yearbook is being run, and we know you're not either. You want power. Brit wants ducks. I want Brit to be happy. Anyway, I think we should take over yearbook from Quinn. Everybody wins that way. Well, except for Quinn."

Rachel thought for several for seconds, tilting her head to one side, before answering slowly. "I don't know. That seems rather underhanded and I've been trying to be less…deceptive. Noah says-" Cutting herself off, she blushed a little, cleared her throat then continued on with, "I used to do anything to get my way but I'm trying to change." To affirm her statement, she gave a sharp nod.

"I just want ducks," Brittany said, looking down at the floor. "Please don't underhand them."

"Look at it this way, Rachel," Santana started off. "If our plan works, Britt and I are willing to give you total control, as long as you let there be ducks on at least half the pages in the yearbook. You will be in charge of everything. You can do whatever you want."

"Half the pages in the yearbook?" Rachel sputtered. "That seems rather excessive. And if this is going to be the best yearbook ever... Perhaps we can add some photos from around Lima and include at least one of the duck pond." Holding her notebooks to her chest, she stood up straighter. "In fact, a photo of ducks taking off from the pond as they go into flight would be actually quite beautiful."

"Yes! I have lots of pictures of ducks!" Brittany was grinning from ear to ear.

"Fine," Santana said, turning to walk away. "Oh, and Berry? If you're going to be in charge of the yearbook, you're going to have to stop dressing like my great aunt. Are those anteaters on your sweater?"

Looking down at her attire, Rachel surveyed her outfit. "No, they are giraffes! And when are we going to coordinate our plan of attack?" she called out after them.

"Lunch," Santana said over her shoulder, turning the corner.

Unsure of what Santana meant, Rachel followed the girls, hissing as she got closer, "Lunch when? Lunch tomorrow?"

"No, Berry, lunch next Friday. Of course tomorrow." Santana rolled her eyes.

"I don't know how I was supposed to know that." Entering the yearbook classroom, Rachel said, under her breath, "Then we'll discuss this more, tomorrow at lunch."

If Santana had been planning on saying anything more, she never got the chance because, as soon as the three girls took their seats, Quinn informed them, "You are over five minutes late. Please try to be on time for our next meeting."

Rachel and Santana exchanged a glance before devoting their attention to the current commander in chief of the yearbook.

As Quinn announced that each member of the committee would be making a progress report for each of the sections they were assigned to, Artie's mind wandered a bit.

He was already in the room when Quinn arrived. As she walked towards what he secretly referred to as her "command post," he noticed that she looked even more beautiful than usual.

Wait. "More beautiful than usual?" Did that mean that he'd noticed how beautiful she was before?

She also looked incredibly stressed, and he wondered what was going on there. He hoped that it was nothing too serious, and thought that he'd try talking to her about it after the meeting. Last time he'd tried that it hadn't been too successful, but he felt like he had to try.

As each person detailed their progress, or lack thereof, he found himself watching her. With each person's comment that they "hadn't done much yet," coupled with the fact that Santana and Rachel kept looking at each other, glaring at her, and making disapproving noises every so often (these mostly came from Santana), her face tensed a bit more. Finally, by the time Jacob announced that he didn't know if he'd be able to continue with his section because of threats from the football team, she looked like she was going to explode.

Clenching her jaw a little, Quinn told Jacob she'd have Finn talk to the other football players before calling the meeting to an end for the day. The progress reports had been what she had expected, still so early in the year (it was only the beginning of October, after all) but Rachel and Santana had made the meeting almost unbearable. Both girls had reputations of doing anything to get what they wanted and, since she had slighted both of them at the previous meeting, she had a feeling they had a common goal of undermining Quinn's authority. If they kept it up, they just might succeed. And on top of that, Finn hadn't asked her to the Homecoming dance yet. He probably figured they were going together but still, he should ask her…

Reaching into her bag, she felt around for the bottle of aspirin she always carried with her. When she didn't find it, she let out a few choice curse words, though she wasn't often prone to swearing.

As he watched people file from the room, Artie overheard Quinn swearing at her bag. He rolled up to her. "Lose something?"

Throwing her bag across the table, Quinn looked up at Artie. "Yes, I can't find my aspirin and I have a headache. Do you have any?"

Artie reached into his bag. "Aspirin, ibuprofen, and tylenol. Take your pick."

"You carry all three? That's um…" Weird but Quinn was grateful for his drugs so she refrained from saying so. "Aspirin."

"Well, I like to be prepared for anything," he shrugged, handing her the first bottle.

"Thanks." Unscrewing the top, she placed three tablets in her mouth and washed them down with what little tea she had left in her dark purple steel Sigg bottle. "So, um…how's your part of the yearbook coming along?" He had just given her the status of his portion but she felt like she needed to ask something and didn't know what else to address.

"Oh, pretty good. I've got a ton of pictures, and am collecting a few quotes from people. I thought it might be nice to have people's words on the pages along with the pictures. Not too sure what it's going to look like yet, but I know I can make it work." He smiled. "I know my parts will be done on or ahead of schedule, so maybe I can step in somewhere and pick up the slack if things don't get done."

"Fairly certain that Rachel is watching and waiting to pick up any slack there might be," Quinn muttered, the expression on her face darkening.

"Yeah...Rachel. I was going to ask about that. What's the deal with her and Santana today?"

"I have no idea," Quinn said, gathering her stuff and standing. "Lately, Rachel has been texting me, calling me, showing up at my house, all in the effort to try to improve the yearbook. Her words. I know she thinks she could do a better job than I could as the student editor in chief. And Santana's just…Santana. I wonder if they've joined forces now. That would not be good." She realized she was sort of rambling and she looked down into his eyes. They were really blue. She had never noticed how blue they were before. She opened her mouth to go on but Artie spoke before she could.

"Do you think they'd try to push you out of your role as editor in chief? Because I wouldn't let that happen." His face flushed. "I mean...I and the rest of the committee wouldn't let that happen. You're doing a great job."

That hadn't actually crossed her mind but now that it had… It seemed more than a remote possibility. Her thoughts were so focused on the potential double crossing that she completely missed that Artie had just sort of offered to be her champion.. Biting down on her bottom lip, her eyes wandered to the clock that hung above the classroom door. When she saw the time, her eyes widened. "Oh my God, I'm so late for practice! Thanks for the aspirin, Artie!" And then she bolted out the door, dashing down the hall, praying that Coach wouldn't give her hell for being late, though she knew that was exactly what would happen.

Artie sat there for a moment, trying to work through everything that had just happened. He'd given Quinn aspirin. Then they'd talked about Rachel and Santana, and he had suggested that they might try to push her out of her role as editor. Judging by the look on her face, if only for a fleeting second, this had not crossed her mind. He didn't know how far they'd actually take something like that, but if Rachel and Santana were working together, he was pretty sure something was going to happen, and it wasn't going to be good.


	6. Up to No Good

_Author's Note: As a reminder, I am writing Rachel's and Puck's parts, DryadSpeaks is writing Santana's, Brittany's, Mike's and Artie's. Leave a review, please. We love them! :D_

_**Chapter Five: Up to No Good**_

As usual, the cafeteria was filled with obnoxious teenagers talking too loud and, occasionally, throwing food at one another. Wrinkling her nose, Rachel surveyed the scene from the entrance into it, looking for Santana. Her eyes were immediately drawn to Puck, who was laughing with his football buddies. Their eyes met and he looked about ready to wave before remembering himself and turning his eyes away. Sighing, Rachel continued to scan the cafeteria when she heard a voice behind her, saying her name. Jumping, she spun around, spotting Santana and Brittany.

"Come on," Santana said, starting to walk into the cafeteria. "Let's find a table where we can talk. But let's make this as fast as possible, I don't want everyone to see us talking to you for long."

Reaching out, Rachel grasped Santana's upper arm, preventing the other girl from entering the lunch room. "No, we can't! If Noah sees us eating together -" Eyes widening, she muttered, "I didn't say that…about Noah. We're not…it's not what you-"

"Wait a minute," Santana said, cutting Rachel off. She turned and glared at the smaller girl. "First off, get your hands off me, now. And second, do you think I haven't noticed how you look at him, and how he looks at you when he thinks no one sees it?"

Releasing her grip, Rachel sputtered out several incoherent responses before finally saying, "I have no idea to what you are referring. Now, can we please get this business meeting over with? I have matters to attend to this lunch period besides plotting with you and Brittany." Santana seemed inclined to agree, while Brittany most just appeared confused, when Puck and Mike sauntered over.

"Berry, Lopez, Brittany," drawled Puck.

Mike nodded toward the girls. "Ladies."

"Why did you call them their last names and me my other name?" Brittany said, looking towards Puck.

Santana held up her hand, indicating that she'd explain to Brittany later. "We don't have time to talk to you right now. I got stuck with Berry as a partner in biology class, and we have to talk about our project. I don't want to spend the whole lunch dealing with it."

"Yes!" cried Rachel, beaming. "That's exactly what we are…partners in biology." Nodding in Santana's direction, she further explained, unnecessarily, "Because we have third period Biology together." Pointing to an empty classroom not far down the hall, Rachel told the boys, "We're going to be working in that classroom."

Frowning suspiciously, Puck pulled Rachel away from the other three, standing close to her. Intimidated, Rachel pressed her back against the wall, refusing to meet his eyes.

"Berry, what's going on? Like really going on?"

Biting the inside of her cheek, Rachel pondered the correct response. "Noah...it's just as Santana said. Mostly. We do have a project to work on."

Arching an eyebrow, Puck silently regarded her for several seconds, in which she squirmed under his gaze. "Okay, Berry. Hope you're being straight with me."

It was all she could not to break down and tell him everything but she didn't. She hoped he'd understand when she later told him the truth.

After Puck and Rachel withdrew to have their private discussion, Mike turned to Santana. "I'm pretty good at biology, if you guys need help," he said, smiling slightly. "We could do some private tutoring, or something..." he trailed off.

"Maybe," Santana said. Her face was completely unreadable. "If we need help. I think we've got it under control, but if we don't, you'll be the first one I call."

Mike's face flushed, ever so slightly. "Sounds like a plan. Remember...I am REALLY good at biology, and it wouldn't be a problem."

Hearing Mike's declaration, Puck chuckled, as he and Rachel rejoined the other three.

"You are?" Rachel perked up. "I've actually been looking for someone to assist me in-"

"No," Puck cut her off. "You want help in Biology, you come to me."

Tilting her head, Rachel squinted her eyes at Puck. "But you're not good at Biology, Noah. You're failing it…"

Puck was about to say something, but Santana cut him off. "Hate to break this up, but we really have to go. Lunch is going to be over soon, and we need to plan out our project."

"Yes," Rachel agreed, leaning in towards Puck, almost as if she was going to kiss him goodbye, before jerking back. "I will see you later, Noah. In glee club. What else would I be meaning?" A high, false laugh exited her lips as she skipped away.

The boys waved as Brittany and Santana followed her.

After they were out of earshot of Puck and Mike, Santana turned to Rachel. "Ok, Berry, we have five minutes. Game plan?"

Glancing around, as if someone might be spying on them, which indeed someone was, unbeknownst to either girl, Rachel told her in, hushed tones, "Subterfuge by undermining her authority. Planting small seeds of doubts in the minds of the other members of yearbook about whether Quinn is really up to task. On top of that, we must, of course, make it appear as if Quinn can't do the job. This shouldn't take us very long then our dreams can come true, which is actually fitting, considering the theme of the yearbook, don't you think?" As she spoke, Rachel pretended she didn't feel the slightest bit of guilt over the plan she had hatched.

"Yeah, I like it. Our dreams will come true. And Quinn will be crushed. Nice plan, Berry!" Santana said, motioning to Brittany, who nodded in agreement. "We have to go, but give me your cell number, and I'll text you later...that way no one will know I'm talking to you. If anyone asks, I'll just say I'm sexting that new kid on the football team."

Reaching into her bag, Rachel pulled out a business card that was white with gold stars in one corner. "This has my cell phone number, home number and email. Feel free to contact me at any time. Oh, except not at night. I need my beauty sleep!"

Santana took the card, rolling her eyes. She spun around, grabbing Brittany by the wrist, and began marching towards her locker.

Rachel, in turn, also left, going in the opposite direction of Santana and Brittany.

Artie sat in the hallway for a second, slightly stunned by what he had overheard. He couldn't make out the entire conversation, but he knew that he heard "undermining," and "Quinn can't do the job." He chewed on his lip for a moment, debating what the best course of action would be. Should he confront Rachel, and ask what it was he had just witnessed? Should he wait and see what happened? Should he mention it to Quinn? He didn't know quite what to do.

After thinking about it for a second, he decided that talking to Rachel would be a good place to start. She might be difficult sometimes, but she wasn't usually mean, and he hoped that he could get some information out of her. He headed down the hall to where he knew her locker was, hoping that she'd be there. As he came around the corner, he realized that he was in luck. She was standing in front of her locker, examining the contents.

"Rachel, can I talk to you for a second?" he said, as he got closer.

Shutting the locker, she faced him, a not quite bright smile on her face. "Of course you can. I've heard you've been collecting quotes for your sections in yearbook. I suppose you have finally and rightly come to get mine for glee?"

"Um, no, not exactly," he said, shifting uncomfortably. "I just heard part of your conversation with Santana and Brittany. What are you guys doing?"

Eyes very round, Rachel stammered, "We were just talking about our Biology exam. We are in B-biology together, third period and..." Digging her nails into her palm, Rachel blinked several times. "Okay, fine, Artie...Santana and I are up to no good. Please don't tell Noah?"

"What do you mean up to no good? What are you doing?" he asked, looking concerned.

Eyes darting from side to side, Rachel didn't answer him for several minutes. When she at last opened her mouth, the bell rang. "We're not doing anything, Artie. I have to go to class now…" With that, she bolted.

He sat there for a second, thinking about what had just happened. Rachel's reaction, in combination with what he had overheard earlier spelled trouble, and he needed to find out what they were up to.


	7. Her Suspicions, His Dilemma

_Author's Note: DryadSpeaks and myself have been on a little hiatus but (hopefully) we're back!  
_

_In case anyone reading this story forgot, I'm writing the Quinn/Finn portions while she is tackling Artie/Tina (in this section). As always, please read and review. We really appreciate all reviews we receive! Thanks! :) _

_**Chapter Six: Her Suspicions, His Dilemma**_

For what felt like forever, Quinn sat, staring at the blank sheet of paper in front of her. An hour ago, she had decided to attempt writing the preamble for the 2011 -2012 yearbook but couldn't seem to figure out just what to write on the subject of dreams. First, she had typed up a few pages of free flow that, once she had re-read it, was basically just crap. Next, she had laid on her bed, eyes on the ceiling, contemplating all that she thought she knew about dreams. Lastly, she had picked up a piece of binder paper and taken a pencil, tapping the graphite end of the pencil repeatedly on the paper. Finally, exasperated, she threw the pencil across the room, crumpled the paper into a ball and plucked her phone from its place on her desk, fingers flying across its touch screen.

Twenty minutes later Finn, ever the dutiful boyfriend, at least this time around, showed up at her house, bearing a chocolate milkshake and a large order of fries.

"What's wrong?" he asked, noticing the way her forehead was wrinkled.

"Oh," she grumbled, taking the shake and fries from him. "This stupid thing Ms. Pillsbury wants me to do for yearbook is giving me headache."

Plunking himself down on the couch in her living room, Finn nodded in understanding. "I get headaches before games sometimes. I try to get rid of them by playing video games. But it never works."

Sitting next to him, she tucked her feet underneath herself. "So, then, how do you get rid of your headaches?"

Shrugging, Finn took a sip from her milkshake. "They usually go away when I'm playing."

Sighing, Quinn brought a fry to her mouth, taking small nibbling bites until it was gone. "Have you noticed Santana and Rachel acting strangely?" she asked abruptly, stray looks from the last week coming to her mind.

"Um…not really. But they're pretty strange anyway."

Settling against the couch, Quinn silently agreed with him but said, "Apart they're pretty annoying but if they paired up…I don't even want to think about it."

Shrugging again, Finn kicked the remote, stretching out one long arm to grab it. "Doubt that would happen," he replied, clicking the television on. "Want to watch a movie?"

What she wanted to do was discuss Santana and Rachel some more but a movie might be the distraction she needed to help rid her of the headache. "Like what?"

Flipping through the channels, Finn grinned at her. "Something with action. And blood! Violence!"

Frowning, Quinn took the remote away from him, selecting a repeat of Friends to watch. "I'd much rather watch something light hearted. I need to be laughing right now and I hate those kinds of movies, you know that."

Sliding his arm around her shoulders, he pulled her towards him. "Fine. I like Friends anyway. How you doin'?"

Rolling her eyes at his Joey impression, Quinn rested against him, attempting to focus on the show.

As the episode played, thoughts of Homecoming started parading through her mind. It was only two weeks away and Finn still hadn't asked her. Maybe he just expected that the two of them would be attending the dance together but it would have been nice if he would extend a more formalized and verbal invitation. "Finn?"

"Hmm…" Apparently he wasn't quite paying attention because after the small noise he made, he laughed at something Joey said.

Biting her lip, she gazed at the TV screen in silence for a couple of minutes. "Never mind. It's not important." Except she actually thought it was important. Obviously Finn didn't feel the same. Tracing her finger along the couch cushion, she reflected upon their relationship and realized it had always been like this. Sometimes, Finn really got it, or at least understood how to make her smile, but other times, like now, he could be so daft. Still, she loved him and had a feeling she always would. First loves should last forever, shouldn't they?

All ponderings further on the subject were interrupted when a vibrating alerted her to an incoming call. Grasping the phone, she saw that it was Artie calling. Since he had never called her before, she figured it must be something important. She was readying herself to answer when Finn plucked the device from her hands.

"Who is it?" His eyes narrowed once they read the caller ID. "Artie? What's he want?"

"It's probably about yearbook," Quinn replied, attempting to snatch the phone from his hands. "Finn! Just give it to me."

Laughing, as if it were a joke, Finn kept the phone away from her, eventually dropping it. Quinn leaned forward and grabbed it right before it hit the floor but, in the process, accidentally unlocked the phone and deleted the message, somehow. Letting out a curse, Quinn lightly slapped her boyfriend. "Great, Finn. Look what you did. And stupid phone. It always does weird things like that."

Apparently, it didn't matter to Finn because, without saying a word, he had gone back to watching the show.

Trying her best not to get angry about it, Quinn typed a message to Artie.

"Hey, I accidentally deleted your voicemail. Sorry. Can you meet before school and tell me whatever you needed to? Thanks."

* * *

Artie sat in the coffee shop, waiting for Tina. As he sat, he thought about the conversation he'd heard between Rachel and Santana, and Rachel's response to him when he'd asked her about it. He had just finished replaying the scene in his mind, when Tina arrived, slightly out of breath.

"I'm sorry I'm late," she said, sitting down. "I got held up judging some little contest Kurt and Mercedes were having about who had the best hat."

He chuckled. "That's ok, I haven't been here very long. Who won?"

She grinned. "I knew I couldn't name a winner without making one of them mad, so I declared a tie. Between you and me, though...Mercedes totally won."

They talked for a bit more, before Artie decided to ask Tina what she thought about the situation with Rachel.

"I was in the hall today, and I heard Rachel and Santana talking about something. I didn't quite get all of it, but I heard 'undermining,' and 'Quinn.' Then, when I asked Rachel about it, she tried to deny it, and then admitted that they were 'up to no good,' but wouldn't give me any more details. I should do something...but I don't know what to do," he said, cupping his hands around his coffee.

Tina thought for a moment. "You heard them say something about undermining Quinn...so it's probably something about yearbook, right?"

He nodded. "I don't know what else it could be about. I mean, everything knows that Rachel wants to be in charge of everything. Maybe she's trying to take it over."

"Well," she said, twirling a strand of her hair around her finger, "I wouldn't worry about it too much. Rachel's definition of being 'up to no good' is probably totally different from...everyone else's. And I don't think she'd try to take the yearbook away from Quinn."

He nodded again. "I just feel like I should do something..." he trailed off.

Before he could say anything else, Tina cut in. "But what are you going to do? Talking to Rachel didn't work. Are you going to talk to Santana?"

He shook his head, and she went on.

"Well, then what are you going to do?" she repeated.

He thought for a moment. "I guess I could call Quinn," he said.

"And say what? That you THINK something is going on with Rachel and Santana?" Tina said, raising her eyebrow.

"I guess," he said, quietly. "Part of me feels like I should just leave it, but I can't. If Santana's involved with something that Rachel thinks is up to no good...then it probably is no good. And Quinn should know about it. I don't want her blindsided by something."

"I guess," Tina said, stirring her coffee with the straw sticking out of the cup.

"I just think that people should know about stuff like this," he said. "I mean...if I heard a conversation like that about anyone, I'd want to do something. Wouldn't you?

She shrugged. "Yeah, I guess I would. So...you're going to call her?"

He nodded. "Maybe she already kind of knows something is going on. I can feel her out. And...be diplomatic. Or something."

She giggled. "Diplomatic? Good luck with that."

He gasped. "I'll have you know that the A-Man is a master diplomat!"

She giggled again. "Sure, whatever you say...A-Man."

He grinned. "Well, I try to be a master diplomat, anyway. It just doesn't always work."

"Has it ever worked?" she asked, grinning back at him.

He sighed. "No, not really, but one of these days I'm going to get points for trying."

They stayed and chatted for another half hour about various things, before Tina announced that she had a lot of homework and should probably get home.

As he kissed her goodbye, he felt slightly guilty for having girls other than her (namely Quinn) on his mind, but quickly pushed that aside. He was just concerned, he reasoned with himself. He just wanted to help a friend.

After he got home, Artie sat in his room, staring at his phone. Finally, he decided to just go for it, and selected Quinn's name from the list of contacts.

As he listened to the phone ring and ring, he had a moment of panic. What was he actually going to say to her if she answered? He almost felt relieved when the voicemail kicked in.

"Hey, Quinn," he started, after the beep had sounded, "It's Artie. There was, um, just something I wanted to talk to you about. If you want, call me back tonight, please. Or, I'll talk to you tomorrow. Ok, thanks. Bye."

After he'd hung up the phone and placed it on his desk, he began to think. What was he going to say if she called him back? Maybe it would have been better if she'd answered after all, because at least then he wouldn't have had to think about it until he talked to her.

But, he mused to himself, it was too late. He'd left the message, and couldn't do anything else except wait.

As he was preparing to get himself ready for bed, Artie noticed out of the corner of his eye that his phone was lighting up. He reached over, grabbed it, and saw that he had a message from Quinn.

After reading it, he thought for a moment about what to say, before replying simply, "Sounds good. I'll be there around 8:15. Have a good night."

Settling himself against his pillows, he began to plan out what he was going to say, thankful for the fact that he had a few hours to figure it out. It was going to be a long night.


	8. Unplanned Encounter

_Author's Note: We're updating! It seems to seldom happen but...it does happen lol. Thank you to those who have been reviewing! :) Read and review!_

_And remember, DryadSpeaks is writing the Artie parts and I'm writing the Quinn/Rachel parts. _

**_Chapter Seven: Unplanned Encounter_**

Curiosity concerning whatever Artie had to discuss had overtaken Quinn and made it nearly impossible for her to get any sleep. When she woke up that morning from her slumber, which had been brief, she couldn't help but wrinkle her nose at her reflection in the mirror. Dark bags accentuated her bloodshot hazel eyes. Sighing, she ran a brush through her hair before pulling it into a haphazard ponytail. After her shower, she put on her cheerleading outfit and headed out of the house, sending Artie a text to let him know she was on her way and would meet him in the same classroom where the yearbook had been meeting.

7:00. Artie glanced at his clock, rubbing the sleep out of his eyes. He usually got up much earlier, but, after having an incredibly restless night, he decided he could cut a few corners, stay in bed longer, and still make it to school on time. Once he was up, he grabbed some clothes from his closet, and headed into the bathroom to get ready for the day.

As Artie hurried to eat some breakfast before heading out the door, he heard his phone beep. He glanced at the screen, reading Quinn's text. He wasn't quite ready to leave, but he lived closer than she did, so he'd still make it on time. After a few minutes, he headed out the door, thinking about what he would say to Quinn.

Glancing at the time, and noting it was a little past 8:15, the agreed upon time, Quinn removed her calculus book from her back pack and began working on a few problems. She had gotten through three when she heard a noise. Lifting her head, she saw Artie approaching. Despite her fatigue and stress over a variety of things, she smiled brightly at him. "Good morning, Artie."

"Hey Quinn," he said, wheeling over to where she was sitting. "How are you today?"

"Tired," she admitted, rubbing her temples for a moment. "I didn't get as much sleep last night as I would've liked. How are you?"

"About the same," he answered. "But, I'm pretty sure I'll live," he added, grinning at her.

Laughing a little, Quinn closed her math text book. "Me too. Now, what did you want to talk about?"

Artie averted his eyes a bit and blushed slightly at her question. He still wasn't exactly sure what he was going to say, but he was there with her...there was no going back.

"Um..." he started, shifting his weight in his chair. "There was just something I overheard the other day," he went on. "And I thought I should talk to you about it."

"Is this a complaint about Jacob?" she asked, tapping her fingers on the desk. "Because I've already gotten…" Closing her eyes, she counted in her head, "…five or six. I know, I know, I need to talk to Miss Pilsbury about it." Sighing, she rested her chin on her hand. "This yearbook is more…I don't know, just more than I thought it would be." Not sure why she was opening up, and to Artie of all people, she bit down on her bottom lip, trying to stop herself. But then it kept coming. "I kind of think Santana and Rachel are...I don't know but I see the way they've been looking at each other and the whispers, laughing. Something's going on. I'm not stupid. And homecoming's in like two weeks and -" Clamping her mouth shut, she shook her head. That was a bit too personal. He didn't need to know that Finn still hadn't asked her to the dance. "It's just a lot," she almost whispered, deflating a bit.

Artie bit his lip as several thoughts went through his mind, before he realized he actually had to say something.

"No, it's not about Jacob," he said. "Never mind," he muttered a few seconds later. "I shouldn't have said anything in the first place. Sorry."

Tucking a hair behind her ear, Quinn watched as Artie sat there for several moments before he snapped himself out of whatever daze he had been in. "Oh." Swallowing, she immediately regretted opening up to him. Clearly, her outpouring of words had freaked him out. Looking down, she blinked, taking a few steadying breaths.

"I'm sorry," he repeated. "If I had known you were already stressing about stuff, I would have just kept my mouth closed. We don't have to talk about this anymore. What are you working on?" he asked, gesturing to her homework, hoping she'd go along with his change of subject and not question him about what he had been going to say.

"No, no," she assured him, forcing herself to make eye contact with him again. "It's sort of my job as student editor to listen to any concerns, complaints, etc, that you may have. I'm not that stressed, I promise." The lie fell easily from her lips and she hoped he would be convinced. She would hate for him to think she was failing at her job as student editor in any way.

"Still..." he trailed off. "I shouldn't have said anything. I'm sorry."

Artie glanced around the room nervously, hoping SOMETHING would happen to distract both of them from the situation he was starting to wish he'd never created. Unfortunately...there was nothing.

By this point, Quinn was beginning to grow frustrated, as well as somewhat fearful about whatever topic Artie was now attempting to avoid. "Just spit it out already, Artie," she snapped. "What is it? Tell me. Now." She straightened her back, hoping that she appeared somewhat intimidating to him.

"I heard Santana and Rachel talking about something that sounded like undermining you," he blurted out, his eyes widening slightly. "And then I asked Rachel about it, and she said they were up to no good but wouldn't tell me what's going on. I'm sorry. And I don't know why I'm talking so fast," he finished, hoping that the floor would just open up and swallow him.

So much for being smooth, he thought to himself, as he glanced up, trying to gauge her reaction from the look on her face.

For what felt like five minutes, but was in fact only one, Quinn stared at him, flabbergasted. She could hear the seconds ticking by and she was sure he could too. Finally, she jumped to her feet. "Aha!" she cried, jabbing a finger in the air. "I KNEW it. But why you are apologizing? You weren't in on it, were you?" She barely hesitated before going on. "Of course you weren't. But why would they even want to…" Frowning, she fell back into her seat, immediately lifting a hand to rub at her eyes, fighting the tears that were already beginning to slip out.

"This feels like something I should apologize for too," he muttered, almost to himself. He wasn't sure whether he should be glad that she broke the silence, or upset at the fact that she looked like she was about to cry.

"Quinn..." he said, softly. "Look...maybe it's nothing," he mumbled. "Maybe I just heard them wrong..."

It seemed a breakdown was imminent. Quinn barely heard Artie's words but, after regaining some composure, they registered and she said, "You heard them right. I know you did." She hated how hoarse her voice sounded. Artie must know she was on the brink and that was embarrassing. "Just get out," she muttered, desiring to be alone, mostly so she could cry without anyone seeing her.

"I can't just leave you here," he said softly, moving to place his gloved hand over hers, before rethinking that action and placing his hand back in his lap.

She wanted nothing more than to scream at him but she knew that if she did, it wouldn't really be him she would be screaming at. She would just be using him, taking out her frustration and hurt feelings on him. That wouldn't be fair and certainly would do nothing to make herself feel better. Gulping down her emotion, she shrugged. "Thanks for telling me. I don't know what I'm going to do but thanks."

"You're welcome," he said, his voice barely above a whisper.

Then, before he could stop himself, he reached out, gently placing his hand over hers. "If you ever want to talk about it, you know where to find me," he added, giving her hand a gentle squeeze. "I'm sorry..." he muttered, pulling his hand away quickly. "I know my gloves are rough...I forgot I was wearing them."

Before he'd even finished uttering the words, his brain screamed at him to be quiet. He was sorry about his gloves? He hoped she hadn't heard that last part.

"Wh-what?" Quinn murmured, tilting her head. "Your gloves?" Sniffing a little, Quinn closed her eyes. "I appreciate the gesture, Artie. But right now, I just need to clear my head."

"Never mind," he muttered, staring down at his lap. "Maybe I should go..." he went on, reluctantly. The last thing he wanted was to leave her there alone, in the current state she was in.

"Probably." Standing, she gathered her stuff. "The bell's about to ring." Shoving everything into her bag, she moved out from behind the desk, then put a hand on his shoulder, pressing her fingers gently against the sweater he was wearing. "Promise me that you'll keep me in check because I feel old Quinn surfacing and I don't want to let her out." Then, without giving it a single thought, she leaned over, brushing her lips against his cheek.

"I...ok," Artie trailed off, as he felt her warm breath on his cheek. Did she just kiss him? Where did THAT come from?

He raised his eyes, staring into hers. "Quinn..." he said, softly, before realizing he didn't know what he was going to say next.

When their eyes met, she had to catch her breath for a second. Confused, she sent a half smile his way. "Artie." Chewing on the inside of her cheek, she contemplated on what more to say. She was spared the effort of thinking on it when the bell rang. "See you…later," she hummed, turning on her heel and rushing off down the hall, getting lost among the throngs of students heading to class. She didn't stop until she reached the bathroom. Pushing the door open, she went inside, coming to a stop when she saw Rachel, brushing her hair in front of the mirror. "Rachel…you're going to be late for first period," she said, her voice high and artificial in her own ears.

"Oh," Rachel replied, a weird smile on her face. "I don't have a first period this year."

"That's nice." Standing in the spot next to Rachel, Quinn fished the tube of lip gloss out of her bag and began to liberally apply it. When she was done, she spun on her heel, opening the door. Before she left, she said, as quietly as she could while Rachel could still hear her, "And Rachel? I know." The door shut softly behind her, leaving a horrified Rachel frozen in front of the mirror.

After Quinn left, Artie sat for a moment, his mouth twisted in deep thought. The encounter hadn't gone at all how he had planned. Not that he had had a plan to begin with...but if he had...it probably would have been radically different than what actually happened.

He was pulled from his thoughts when he noticed that people were starting to file into the classroom.

Grateful that he always had a few extra minutes to get to class if he needed them, he wheeled towards the door, and entered the sea of students.

He was almost at his class, when he spied Rachel walking quickly towards him. He glanced up, briefly meeting her eyes and smiling. Rachel averted her eyes, and made a sharp turn down the nearest corridor.

He thought to himself that that was slightly odd, before turning to his left and entering his classroom.


End file.
